Still life, abstracts and ultra-violence from the brilliant Sam D’Orazio

Illustrator Sam D’Orazio is to gouache what Robert Crumb is to pen and ink; a surreal, perverse creator of strange landscapes populated by grotesque versions of ourselves, all swollen-bodied and mentally unhinged. His characters represent some of the darkest and most confusing aspects of our day-to-day lives, haphazardly coming to terms with the situations they find themselves in; sometimes with unpredictably violent results.

But that’s not all Sam’s capable of producing, he’s also got a classical streak running through his work. He’s honed his compositional skill producing a multitude of traditional still lifes and advocates the use of abstraction within commercial illustration – a rare breed in today’s largely figurative landscape. We love Sam’s work, both for its surreal insightfulness and the way he sums up his practice: “Each thing I make is like some kind of shitty curry, and I’ve made it with all of these spices thrown in, and sometimes the cap falls off on one of the shakers.”

While looking through the portfolio of illustrator and designer Joe Schlaud, one particular project stopped us in our tracks with its audacious absurdity. This cheeky little series of gifs illustrate the concept of combining “ancient Kama Sutra positions with mundane everyday activities,” says Joe. The illustrator’s sarcastic tone on the subject certainly had us chuckling.

The work of Seoul-based illustrator Lee Kyutae is misty-eyed, delicate and quiet. The immense detail in each of Lee’s drawings is jaw-dropping. Pencil marks left, right and centre to create clouds, shadows, landscapes and textures of absolute delight.

Paula Bulling has an illustration style that many wish for. Each of her sketches are effortlessly lovely. Landscapes, town squares filled with people, restaurants or bedrooms, each sketched out in a style of layered fluidity.

Latvian illustrator Zane Zlemeša’s delicately painted drawings are pieces you can spend a long time gazing at. Layered, textured, detailed, her illustrations are individually characteristic, whether they are depicting an interior, a landscape or an individual.

Illustrator Aaron Fernandez depicts a cast of funny fellows in his fluoro palette of highlighter yellow, pink and green. Taking on commissions for Buzzfeed News and Giphy Studios as well as some self-initiated student work for The New York Times, Aaron’s bright and happy sensibilities are portrayed through not only his colour choice but also his clean linework and fresh interpretations of familiar subjects.

Barcelona-based illustrator Cristina Daura’s editorial and commercial work is well-accomplished and retains a real sense of Cristina’s personal style throughout. Using a strong palette of vivid primary and secondary colours there’s a freshness to her work and the way she depicts characters and objects, which is enhanced by the black outlines making everything extra crisp.